Washington (CNN) – After more than six decades of public service, Israeli President Shimon Peres paid his last official visit to the White House on Wednesday.

The Israeli leader discussed with President Barack Obama the wavering stability in the Middle East as civil uprisings in Iraq and Syria plague the region, as well as Iran's nuclear program – an issue Israel sees as a major threat to its security.

The Hague, Netherlands (CNN) - Hours before the launch of the third Nuclear Security Summit set to begin Monday in The Hague, the White House announced an agreement with the government of Japan to assist in the disposal of hundreds of kilograms of nuclear material currently stored within its borders.

The material in question consists of both highly enriched uranium and separated plutonium created for an academic research project launched by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency in the 1960's. Technological advances have since rendered the material unnecessary for the project's purpose of studying fast reactor cores, and the two countries have pledged to work together on its removal and disposal.

Washington (CNN) - A key Senate Democrat came to the defense of embattled Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko on Thursday after his four fellow commissioners sent a letter to the White House criticizing his leadership. They also testified before a House committee that Jaczko had "bullied" staff, restricted access to information and quietly assumed emergency powers following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in Japan this year.

Sen. Barbara Boxer of California called a Wednesday House hearing a "witch hunt and an attempt to assassinate the character of a dedicated public servant," namely Jaczko. "Frankly, I was shocked, and I was appalled," she said.

Washington (CNN) - GOP presidential hopeful Rick Santorum said Thursday that as president he would use "whatever means necessary" to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear program, including going to war.

In an effort to halt the steps he says Iran is taking to grow a nuclear weapons program, the former Pennsylvania senator said on CNN's "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer" that in addition to using covert operations he would order "actual operations within the country to make sure the program does not continue."FULL POST

Washington (CNN) – Most Americans who live within 50 miles of a nuclear power plant aren't prepared for a nuclear emergency and don't think the police, hospitals and other emergency services in their community are prepared either, according to a new national poll.

But a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Friday indicates that only four in ten believe it is likely that an accident or natural disaster at the nuclear plant near them will put their family in immediate danger, and only one in seven think that is very likely to happen.

Washington (CNN) - Opposition to building new nuclear power plants in the U.S. has edged up since last spring, a likely reaction to the nuclear power plants crisis in Japan, according to a new national poll.

But a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Tuesday also indicates a majority of Americans approve of using nuclear energy to produce electricity.FULL POST

(CNN) - As the crisis surrounding nuclear plants devastated by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan continues, a new poll released Thursday suggests Americans are increasingly wary of nuclear power and the threat of a nuclear disaster.

According to the USA Today/Gallup poll, 70 percent of respondents said the events in Japan caused greater concern about the threat of a nuclear disaster occurring in the United States. 39 percent of those surveyed said they are "a lot more concerned."FULL POST